


Bittersweet

by BlueAlmond



Series: Dictated by Nature [3]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Conversations, Fluff, M/M, Romance, Stereotypes, Thomas is kind of a dick but he's getting better okay, Toxic Masculinity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2020-08-10 22:36:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20143114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueAlmond/pseuds/BlueAlmond
Summary: Thomas just had an expert spell out for him that everything he believed about omega’s natural behavior was wrong. But how does that affect what he’d been doing, courting that timid and lovely omega that never defied a single stereotype?





	Bittersweet

**Author's Note:**

> It occurs right after the first part, but I don’t believe it is necessary to have read it. I encourage it, and it’s pretty short, but I tried to make it understandable without it and I believe I succeeded.

Thomas had an hour for lunch before he had to go back to work, and for the last two weeks, he’d been spending that hour with the lovely Doctor Madison; a high-level omega his sister had introduced to him on her birthday party last month. Doctor Madison was an immunologist that rarely spoke of his job and always seemed to have time to answer his calls and texts. He was gentle and kind and listened to his every word as if he was the most interesting person in the world. It made him want to talk. James Madison made him want to talk for hours, and to listen, too, for James’s words were sweet as chocolate. Thomas didn’t think he’d ever been as excited for lunch as he was lately. However, that particular Wednesday, after a short discussion about the credibility of most beliefs regarding the autonomy and biology of omegas with a team of experts, he was… confused. Doctor James Madison seemed to fit in every single stereotype about omegas he’d heard throughout his life. What did that mean? Was it deliberate? Was he overthinking it? Biology wasn’t everything. There was also social conditioning, and James’s personality could be a result of that. But that was a distressing thought. Would the shy man smile the way he did, talk the way he did, sit the way he did, if he had grown up in a different, kinder world? And even if that was the case, what did that mean at this point in life? It didn’t matter if it was the result of something in particular, for that was the person he had become, and that was the person Thomas knew, and that was… a real person, right? It couldn’t be some sort of act. Surely, it wasn’t. Just because he was told by a team of experts that omegas weren’t naturally wired to depend completely on their closest alpha didn’t mean that there weren’t omegas out there that _wanted _to depend on them. It didn’t mean that there weren’t omegas out there that were compliant and soft and tender naturally. It didn’t have to be all taught. It could be real. Thomas wanted it to be real. He wanted it to be real so badly.

When he made it to the restaurant, Doctor James Madison was already there, waiting for him, and he looked so lovely in his dark sweater. Was it wool? It looked so soft. Was that a lie too, that omegas preferred softer fabrics? Didn’t everyone prefer softer fabrics? Thomas no longer knew what to think. But maybe sitting across from the man whose smile always warmed his heart could calm him down.

“Thomas? Is something wrong?” asked James the moment he approached him, before he could even sit down.

So much for expecting the doctor’s presence to calm him down.

“No,” he smiled tightly. “Nothing’s wrong. Don’t worry.” He looked around, nervously praying for someone to come and take their orders. They’d eaten there already a few times, and they’ve had the same waitress, an amicable beta, every time. She went soon enough, but she handed him a menu and left, rightly assuming Thomas would take some time deciding what to eat. He opened it but didn’t really read anything. He took a deep breath and dared to see if the doctor was ready to change the subject. His arched eyebrow told him he wasn’t.

Thomas cleared his throat. “I was just thinking about stereotypes, and how they affect our laws.”

“Oh. That is an interesting topic.” He leaned back on his chair, head tilted to the right. “But what brought it up?”

“You might have heard of the bill on shared responsibility?”

James’s mouth twisted downwards. “Oh yeah, that thing. Any hope the governor will do the reasonable thing, and shut it down?”

Thomas’s stomach twisted, and he felt cold sweat run down his spine. He didn’t even know why he was so nervous, why he felt so embarrassed. It was a good thing that James’s personal opinion aligned with the experts’, but he was a doctor after all. He nodded. “He will, actually. Today we had a meeting with a group of experts that deemed it unsuitable.”

“Thank God.”

“Yeah…”

James studied him curiously, frowning slightly, with no malice. “Thomas? Was it a long meeting?”

“No. It was rather short, actually.”

James hummed.

Thomas sighed and scratched the back of his head, avoiding the omega’s eyes, running his around the restaurant. He saw their waitress and gave her a smile, hoping from where she was she couldn’t notice how tense it was. “We’re almost all alphas, there. And the team assessing the bill initially had been just three advisors and the governor himself. One said that it was stupid. He insisted, quite vehemently, that it was plain wrong. But none of us listened to him, not really. We weren’t sure. What does that say about us?”

“Mostly? That you’re ignorant.”

Thomas was shocked at his bluntness, and he knew it was clear on his face. “But…”

“What were you expecting me to tell you, Thomas? I didn’t read the whole thing. But I remember the premise. You think that stereotypes are to blame, but I don’t think so. One thing is people thinking that omegas are weak, and another is giving us less rights than teenagers.”

“That’s not what…”

“Thomas, please. Such a law would have brought back all those things the omega rights movement has been fighting for the last century. It would’ve put our jobs and education in jeopardy. Our right to choose what we do on our heats? Seriously, Thomas? You didn’t think that was outrageous right away?”

Thomas blushed. “Well, it was all from the base that whoever got to make those choices would’ve had nothing but the best for you in mind. I mean…”

“The main problem here isn’t what would’ve happened to the unlucky ones that would’ve been stuck with controlling or abusive guardians. It’s about autonomy. A fully functional adult shouldn’t _need _a guardian. It doesn’t matter if the guardian is good. It doesn’t matter if said functional adult may make mistakes. Maybe someone else knows better, but that isn’t for the law to decide. Shouldn’t humans be allowed to make their own paths? Everyone else is, why omegas shouldn’t?”

“I’m sorry.”

James seemed startled for a second, before a fond smile appeared on his face. “You don’t have to apologize, Thomas.”

“I feel like I do.”

“Well then, that is apology enough. Really.”

Doctor Madison was _so_ _nice_. He was almost _too nice_. And merely a day before, that would’ve made perfect sense to Thomas, simply because the man was an omega. Omegas were supposed to be kind and shy and good. Soft and nice and tender. Sweet. Sweet was supposed to be a synonym to the word omega, for it matched their scent _and _personality.

But that was a lie. Doctor Madison wasn’t nice because he was an omega. Doctor Madison was an omega that just happened to be nice. He was nice and kind but also intelligent and clear when he believed in what he was saying. He was still shy at times, but the more they got together and the more they got to know each other, he acted a lot more confident around Thomas, and he discovered that he liked it better that way, when conversation was far more fluent, and he got to hear what the doctor truly thought. That meant he felt safe around Thomas, too, and that was incredibly relieving for some reason. It shouldn’t be flattering, to _not _be considered a menace —that was, in fact, quite a low bar to meet. But it was important. It was a first step. It was a beginning. A bittersweet beginning, for just then Thomas realized that Doctor Madison’s words, even the mean ones, were still like chocolate. The tender ones were sugary, almost like milk chocolate filled with caramel, and the blunt, reproachful ones were like bitter, black chocolate, addictive despite the aftertaste. If only to realize that, Thomas treasured that conversation on that particular Wednesday afternoon that tasted of a beginning. A beginning of something that Thomas knew he would enjoy.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there, I hope you liked this little something I did when trying to avoid my responsibilities :))) if you happen to be reading any of my other stories, I'll have to ask you for patience because the world hasn't been kind lately and my depressed ass is having a hard time keeping up.
> 
> Any love in the way of kudos or comments is greatly appreciated.
> 
> Come yell at me at Tumblr if you want, I'm @discretocincel


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